Instant iPod Docking Case

Take This, Hacker Chick

Well, this isn't really a fix, but it is farfetched. Except it really happened. Well most of it anyway, there is a bit of exaggeration in the video that I couldn't resist ...

When our computer and personal information were severely compromised by a Trojan Horse virus downloaded from CNET, all we could do was laugh. Well, laugh, and change our bank account, alert our credit card company, re-image our computer 376 times, contact the authorities, and finally, after exhausting all other alternatives, move to the Bahamas with our new lap-abacus. Hope you enjoy this spoof I did after the worst was over!



Hey! This video may take my new blog to 1,000 visits. How fun is that? A small victory for cyberspace!

"Cooler Corn"

I thought Thanksgiving would be a great time to re-post this fantastic idea!

This method for perfectly cooking loads of corn on the cob is simple genius!

Take a large cooler, wipe it clean, and fill it with shucked ears of corn. Cover the corn with boiling water and close the top.

Then nothing.

Thirty minutes later you can sit down to dinner and enjoy perfectly cooked corn on the cob, en masse! I'm told that the corn will remain at the perfect level of doneness for a couple of hours.

Thanks to my sister-in-law Stephanie W. for submitting.

Dishwasher Pacs? We've Been Duped!

Ooooo, pretty!

I was loading one of these pacs into my dishwasher a couple of months ago and got a revelation. Instantly, I flashed back to the installation of my new dishwasher. The nice man told me to use these special pacs and kindly gave me some free samples, "The new dishwashers run much better with these than the liquid, Ma'am."

Indeed, my liquid did not perform as well as the lovely and mysterious little pacs in the new machine, so I bought some. Ahhh, the marvels of modern technology. First, HD television and the iPhone and now these nifty pacs, I mused.

Homemade recipe,courtesy lightlycrunchy blog

Anyway, back to the aforementioned revelation: I was loading the beautiful little packet into my dishwasher, and ... it broke open. Do you know what spilled out? Dishwasher powder!!! Dishwasher powder???? Those little weasels!! So, there is no secret formula inside these little gizmos? No super-powered cleaning formulas? The pack casing performs no miracle?  The pretty green and blue swirls? Well, I haven't figured that out yet. Probably colored goo. (I do know the generic swirl-less packs work great.)

Ahhh, the marvels of modern marketing schemes. Will the wonders of the new millennium never cease?

Cheapo generic powder

Takeaway:
When you run out of these expensive little pacs,
go buy some cheap dishwasher powder.
Dollar Tree, here I come!

Gardening Tip to Protect Hands & Nails

Re-potted orchid & clean nails with
indoor greenhouse in the background

I love plants, always have. I have a little indoor greenhouse that I absolutely love, a couple of orchids,  succulents, ferns and herbs in my windowsill. In fact, it is fall here in the south-central US and time to plant pansies and prepare our outside gardens for winter. (Born and raised in Denver, but living in the South since 1996, I love it here. What a delight to have pansies blooming in my yard in December!)

Anyway, I was re-potting an overgrown orchid (above) and some spearmint I bought from the grocery store this afternoon and remembered a tip I got from a book on houseplants years ago. Before you begin working with the soil, slather your hands with lotion. Especially, gook lotion under your fingernails.

Then you can wash your hands easily without any residue left under your nails. Also hands don't dry out and nails are not likely to break or split.